Hours after Russi announced his resignation June 12, which is effective Aug. 1, the school's athletic department announced Francis' firing -- effective immediately.

The couple met at Oakland University and married in 1999 and with the exception of a hiatus by Francis a decade ago, had remained employed by the school.

Karen Miller, president of the Oakland University chapter of the American Association of University Professors, said the situation is being kept extremely close to "the inner circle."

Though Miller said she has heard little to nothing about the situation, she recalls hearing at a Board of Trustees meeting that Russi's contract did not expire until summer 2014.

Russi, 67, had a contract that expired in June 2012, according to university records from 2006.

Ted Montgomery, director of OU's Media Relations, said Russi's contract does not have an employment end date, and that is the end date of his deferred compensation.

OU Board of Trustee meeting minutes from July 31, 2008 state the trustees approved Russi's reappointment -- including the terms and conditions contained in an employment agreement and a deferred compensation.

Montgomery said Russi's employment is up to the university or himself, rather than a contract.

The contractual agreements must be obtained through FOIA requests, since they are "personnel files," Montgomery said. The Oakland Press has sent Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for both Russi and Francis' contracts with the university.

Russi currently makes an annual salary of $357,875, according to the OU budget.

According to trustee meeting minutes from Nov. 1, 2006, the details of the contract that expired in June 2006 were: An increase of annual salary 3.2 percent retroactive to July 1, 2006 together with a one-time $7,500 performance incentive and $15,000 deferred compensation to be added to the minimum scheduled deferral for fiscal-year 2006-2007.

Francis was in line for a nearly $10,000 pay raise effective July 1, the date which Oakland officially moves its athletic teams to the Horizon League, according to documents obtained in a Freedom of Information request by The Oakland Press. The bump in pay would have brought her base salary to $136,000 per season.

The purpose of Russi possibly staying until 2014, Miller said, was to see the first class of the OU William Beaumont School of Medicine graduate. The program was approved by the OU Board of Trustees at the July 31, 2008 meeting.

Francis has declined to comment since her firing. She was let go after a 227-162 record in 13 years at Oakland, which was interrupted by a three-year hiatus from 2002-05, which she attributed to health concerns. Francis led the Golden Grizzlies to the NCAA tournament and WNIT twice in her tenure, earning conference coach of the year honors two times. The team's success rate, though, had waned in recent seasons.

After finishing tied for second place in the Summit League in 2009-10 and tied for third place in 2010-11, Francis' teams have finished tied for sixth, followed by a ninth-place finish last season. The 2012-13 season, like the one before it, was marred by injuries, most notably to preseason conference player of the year Bethany Watterworth (Lake Orion), who will be returning to Oakland next season.

Francis revealed late last year she had been the victim of sexual abuse as a child by her father and has since spoken out at various events to help raise awareness of child sexual abuse. She also had championed the passing of the so-called "Erin's Law," which is designed to help schools teach elementary-age children about sexual abuse. She was the recipient of the Pat Summitt Most Courageous Award in April and was recognized as an Esteemed Woman of Michigan in 2010.

Athletic director Tracy Huth also has declined further comment on the move except to wish Francis well in her future endeavors. He said early this week a coaching search for a replacement had not yet begun and expressed "all the confidence in the world" in women's basketball interim coach Jeff Tungate, who is men's basketball coach Greg Kampe's associate head coach.

"He's a great coach and a great leader," Huth said.

Oakland announced it would be launching a national search for Francis' replacement when it announced Francis' firing and Tungate's appointment last week.

Tungate, a Rochester native, is entering his seventh season as associate coach at Oakland. The former Oakland baseball standout and 1993 graduate served in the same role under former Fort Wayne head coach and current Michigan State assistant and Clarkston native Dane Fife from 2005-07.

Tungate last served as a head coach at Division II Lincoln Memorial University from 1999 to 2004.

A representative from the NCAA could not confirm or deny any potential or pending investigation at the school, but noted there have not been any recent reports by the NCAA's Committee on Infractions regarding any major infractions at the school. Scott MacDonald, assistant athletic director for communications, said he has not been notified of an NCAA investigation.

The Oakland Press has filed several FOIA requests with the school. The university has five business days under Michigan law to either provide copies of the records or provide a detailed explanation why the records will not be disclosed.